By Brittni Barcase
No one can prepare you for the loneliness that accompanies motherhood. It can be extremely isolating. One minute you are a single person in the world and the next minute you are expected to keep a teeny tiny human fed and alive – without a user’s guide or manual.
If you told me I was going to become a mom and just barely start to get my “groove” back, to have everything come to an abrupt halt because of a global pandemic, I would have laughed HARD in your face. To put it in perspective for you, I haven’t stepped foot inside of a store, my office, or anywhere since March 15th, 2020. My office plants, I’m sure, are dead since I haven’t seen them or watered them in ten months. We get our groceries delivered weekly and my “outings” are now drive-thru runs twice a week for a coffee or a large coke and some french-fries (happiness, people).
In many ways, life became simple. The clutter that filled my world melted away and the only things left were my family and my work. I never really wore make-up before the pandemic but now I definitely don’t (unless I have a zoom meeting, of course) and I couldn’t even tell you the last time I put “real” clothes on.
My world shifted, without me, and I had to play catch up to shift along with it.
Brittni Barcase is a Health Educator at Jewish Community Services
The Mental Well, an initiative of JCS, is an online community for young adults, created by young adults, who are navigating the highs and lows that accompany their 20s and 30s. To learn more, visit thementalwellblog.org or email thementalwell@jcsbaltimore.org.
JCS is a comprehensive human services organization providing a broad range of services that meet the diverse, multi-dimensional needs of individuals and families throughout Central Maryland. To learn more, visit jcsbalt.org or 410-466-9200.
